1362
The SMC introduces arcane ''Scrolls of Correspondence'' By 1362, the speed of life in Baldur's Gate was moving at break-neck pace. As the rest of the world suddenly contemplated the fall of their gods and the sudden lack of one-time reliable health and healing, life in the halo of House Stonehearth consisted of two things: magic and gold. And gods help the poor bastard who stood before the firepower of the Arms of Stonehearth. That speed was fastest in the House, of course, but it affected the whole city. Money traded hands at fantastic rates and word and demand spread to Waterdeep and Neverwinter in the north, to Cormyr and farther to the east, to Amn and farther to the south. That much coin, that fast, meant fortunes were won and lost in a day. No place was that more a point than in Stonehearth itself. There was a new need: communication. Not just the funneled, mage-choked long-distance communication, but stationery that could communicate ideas across the leagues as fast as one could write on it. Naturally, Stonehearth saw that need and researched the way to fill it. The Creation of the Scrolls The enchanted objects were sold as pairs and the concept was simple: the writing on one appeared on the other. This allowed instant communication over long distances. It was unknown if there was a limit, but it had been proven to work between Baldur’s Gate and Silverymoon. It used standard ink – but once inked, could not be erased. If one ran out of space, buy a new set of scrolls. This tool was an absolute game-changer for diplomacy, business, war… anything where words needed to get from one place to another. The limiting factor at this point was cost but it was expected that the price would eventually drop as the enchantment process became more regular. Stonehearth was the Baldurian Golden Goose Four years into arcane instability and divine hijinks, the SMC magic was rock solid. Stonehearth arcane manufacturing was still producing – and selling at market rate – thousands of potions in hundreds of standard and customized effects. Likewise, the spell scrolls brought business for hundred of miles around. They weren’t the only ones to produce potions (they were among very few to produce scrolls), but they were the only ones to either at an industrial scale. They were the only ones that could routinely produce obscure-effect, or particularly potent potions. The potion business alone was so successful that the Baldur’s Gate Council of Four was deathly afraid of how much money – and commensurate influence – Stonehearth wielded. There were efforts to rein in the House, but few could imagine any way to do that which didn't backfire. Eltan was non-committal regarding that influence. As the Archduke, he needed to keep the intrigues to a minimum, to keep the dukes on his side. At the same time, there was never a danger Eltan would act against Stonehearth, even if one of the Council of Four went rogue. Category:Hall of Records Category:Timeline